This Week’s Experiment: How do you affect others?
The words “integrity”, “trust” and “credibility” are thrown around in the workplace quite a bit, but when was the last time you stopped to think about what each word really means to you – specifically your integrity, level of trust, and credibility in the eyes of others?
Not going to lie – it’s not one of the top things I find myself reflecting on regularly.
But it’s absolutely something we notice immediately when it’s missing in our conversations or a little bit off with our connections.
There is also a lot of talk right now on how bosses and managers impact individuals’ mental health more than therapists or doctors.
I can’t help but draw a connection here. There are some major ingredients missing in many of our day-to-day interactions that would fuel greater empathy, trust, credibility, and connection. All of which strongly correlate to our overall well-being at work.
What a great opportunity for us all to pause and reflect on how we’re really treating each other at work – and in life.
Credibility is not optional.
In Burn Ladders. Build Bridges., Dr. Alan emphasizes building a base of competency and credibility as one of the important things that Ladderburners do as part of their career- and bridge-building approaches.
Jumping to page 56 of the book, I appreciate the simple and straightforward description of what that means:
Competency is getting smart about your stuff, your specialty, your area of expertise.
As an achiever with some major perfectionist tendencies, I must say, most days I’m CRUSHING competency.
Credibility is getting smart about people.
So, what does that mean?
- Take time to understand what’s important to others – listen to their perspective(s). Be genuinely curious. This isn’t checking boxes or solving problems. People will see right through that approach – and you.
- Make yourself available to others. “Availability is about receptivity and presence, being in the moment.”(Patterson, page 56) Your undivided attention and interest have the power to completely change the dynamics of a connection – especially between a boss and their team member(s).
- To be most effective, Burners need ever-preset self-awareness. One of the biggest challenges we all face is the ability to have that awareness in the moment. Calming the mind is ongoing and necessary for clear thinking, and more importantly, understanding one’s feelings and emotions.
This week’s Ladderburners® Learning Lab:
Your attitude and actions affect others, whether you realize it or not.
- How do you affect others currently? How do they feel after being in your presence?
- What is your desired impact on the people at work – and in your life?
- How does the game you’re playing at work (a.k.a. how you define success and see career growth) influence how you show up?
Taking control of your development requires your own Ladderburner Learning Lab.
Follow along here for weekly experiments & career development support.
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About the Ladderburner Learning Lab:
In Burn Ladders. Build Bridges. Pursuing Work with Meaning + Purpose, Patterson shares an essential formula for Ladderburners in pursuit of more at work. Chapter 7 dives into two of those skillsets – how to build a base of competence and credibility. This can be done through the Learning Lab – an approach to learning as much as you can about your job, the people around you, what success looks like, and how things really work inside the workplace. Learn more about the Ladderburner Learning Lab.
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